Tour of Poland designed with Olympic preparation in mind

Dan Martin (Garmin-Transitions) stayed in the lead of Tour of Poland after stage 6

(Riccardo Scanferla)

Jacopo Guarnieri (Liquigas-Doimo) wins stage one at the Tour of Poland in Warsaw

(Roberto Bettini)

Jens Voigt takes the podium after drying off and getting warm after a cold, rainy stage.

(Roberto Bettini)

The 69th Tour de Pologne was presented today in Warsaw, with details on the seven stages in which 25 teams of 9 riders each will compete. The 1234.7 kilometre WorldTour race kicks off in Karpacz with a hilly circuit on July 10 and concludes with a flat circuit in Krakow on July 16.

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"It all starts off from Karpacz, a historical town in the Tour de Pologne which is back after a few years off the schedule with an immediately gruelling stage on a route suited to climbers," said Tour de Pologne director Czeslaw Lang.

A 240km long second stage, some flatter sprinter-friendly stages and mountainous days near the end of the race were all designed with Olympic Games preparation in mind.

"Since it will be held just a few days before the Olympics, the roads of Poland will become an essential passage for those riders who are strongly focused on the 2012 London games," Lang said.

"It is for this very reason that we have designed the 2012 Tour de Pologne trying to make the race even more spectacular, both for the public as well as the riders, who won't only be here to win but will also want to prepare their legs as best as possible for the Olympics."

The organisers expanded the field to 25 teams of 8 riders this year, choosing all WorldTour teams, the Polish national team and six wild cards from the Professional Continental ranks.